


Stop It!

by Moonscar



Category: Karneval (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Nai Has A Sensory Overload, Nai Needs A Hug, Sensory Overload, everyone cares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:07:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23256670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonscar/pseuds/Moonscar
Summary: Truly, it was just a normal dinner with everyone, and yet Nai was so happy.Being able to eat with everyone like this truly was a gift, because it means they could all spend time together and talk.Nai smiled down at his salad and picked up a piece of it with his fingers before eating it. He didn't even feel Gareki's stare as he did so. He continued doing this, happily humming to himself as he ate, people chattering and eating around him.Then, it was like there was a shift.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 35





	Stop It!

Truly, it was just a normal dinner with everyone, and yet Nai was so happy.

Being able to eat with everyone like this truly was a gift, because it means they could all spend time together and talk.

Nai smiled down at his salad and picked up a piece of it with his fingers before eating it. He didn't even feel Gareki's stare as he did so. He continued doing this, happily humming to himself as he ate, people chattering and eating around him. 

Then, it was like there was a shift.

You see, Nai was able to tune out constant sounds more often than not, unless it seemed out of place. He'd lived with his amazing hearing for so long that it had become habit.

But sometimes, it just... stopped.

He never blocked things consciously, so sometimes, unconsciously, it would start inputting every sound as well.

So here he sat, wincing faintly and the sudden input of everything around him. Karoku glanced at him, brows furrowing momentarily.

He could hear everyone's consistent heartbeats, faint and all beating in different moments, creating an irritating, inconsistent beat with no pattern that he could decipher. 

He could hear everyone's inhales and exhales, their words being tuned out completely, and Nai could only make out the difference in tones of all their voices. The higher pitch of Tsukumo's voice, the loud voice of Yogi as he screeched at Gareki about something that Nai couldn't make out.

He could make out their voices, but not their words. He could make out bits and pieces, but god it was so hard.

When someone accidentally scratched at the bottom of their plate with their fork, that's what really did him in.

Nai's hands immediately reached the side of his head, clasping down on his ears in an effort to block out the noise, sobs shaking his chest and leaving. God, Nai wanted to scream, but screams were too loud.

Not that it mattered.

Because now Nai could hear the screeches of chairs being pulled back, anxious and abrupt cries calling out to him, and suddenly it was louder in everyone's panic, despite his hands clasping down harder to block out the sound.

"Stop..." Nai whimpered, his voice feeling drowned out by all the noise surrounding him. For some reason, they kept talking, kept inquiring and yelling over each other. He felt a pair of warm hands holding him.

Nai's toe's curled him and he dug his heel into his leg, the pain helping ground him just a bit.

Why weren't they stopping? Maybe they couldn't hear him over all the noise.

Nai's sobs grew louder, chest shaking and heaving, breaths becoming more ragged.

"S-stop!" He cried out, curling up on himself at his last-ditch attempt to get the sound to stop.

And mostly, it did.

The voices grew softer, much softer. Although still grating to his sensitive ears, it was so much better to what it had been. Then, he felt himself slowly being lifted up from his chair in a warm, steady hold.

"Everyone, quiet. If you're too follow me, do so quietly" Karoku's voice cut through, and Nai whimpered, hiding his face in the warmth, not daring to let go of his ears. Then, no one spoke. Nai ould hear footsteps, heartbeats, breaths, but no more voices.

No more metal scraping against plates.

It still felt so overwhelming though.

Then, he was overwhelmed by a sudden darkness as he was placed down on a bed, a soft cloth wrapping around his form in what his mind tried to recognize, the comfort of it seeming so familiar yet to far away to get ahold of in the chaos of his mind. 

"Karuko?" Nai called out, voice meek as he reluctantly pulled his hand away from his ears. He heard a soft shushing, or at least, he thought it was meant to be soft. He felt slender fingers brushing through his hair. He heard a telling thunk, and he assumed it was Karuko sitting down beside his bed.

Nai felt warm.

And so, to try and cherish that warmth, he curled up a bit more on himself, the blanket carefully wrapped around him not letting loose.

It took far too long for him to fall asleep, the sounds surrounding him keeping him awake, voices in a room so far away keeping him awake.

But nonetheless, he fell asleep.

~~~~"It's a bi-product of his existence in a human body" Karoku explained, Nai having long ago fallen asleep in his room. Now, he sat in the living room with everyone else from Ship 2 who'd been at dinner, everyone sitting either on the couches or on the floor. Gareki scoffed, glaring over at him.

"And you hadn't cared to tell us this beforehand?" Gareki asked, tone accusing. Karoku glanced up at him, taking a sip of his tea before continuing.

"Honestly, it hadn't come to mind at all. It feels like it was so long ago" He said, frowning slightly down at his half-empty mug.

"But I don't get it! Why did it happen so suddenly?" Yogi called, expression exasperated and worried as his arms came flying up from where they were hugging a pillow close to his chest, said man being seated on the floor near the coffee table.

"I assume you guys are aware that Niji don't really live long in captivity, right? It's because their habitat is so specific, it's difficult to replicate in laboratories, and a big part of this is the overwhelming sound around them in laboratories. Thanks to their superb hearing, it overwhelms them and stresses them out" Karoku said, and Hirato narrowed his eyes down at his drink suddenly, but didn't say anything, so Karoku continued "Now that his body is that of a human's, he's been able to adapt more to various environments, which is why he isn't dead. But sometimes, everything tunes in and he can hear everything to an unsettling degree, even more so than on average" Karoku explained, taking another sip of his tea

"Will he be okay?" Tsukumo asked, voice soft as she glanced down at the floor worriedly, expression pinched. Karoku smiled at her softly.

"He should be once he wakes up" Karoku said, smiling as he glanced down at his mug once more. He heard Gareki scoff.

"Obviously he's gonna be okay, little brat's too damn lucky to be touched by this shit. He'll pull through, he always does" Gareki said, shaking his head, a mix of annoyed and fond. Karoku smiled at him.

To have such people looking out for Nai, he got lucky.

**Author's Note:**

> Oop
> 
> Fun fact, I've loved this manga/anime/fandom/the characters for so fucking long and only really caught up today, although I'm not done yet with the manga. But I thought back on Nai and this seemed like a really probable scenario.
> 
> I mean, he's bound to get a sensory overload at some point with his hearing, right?
> 
> (also guess who's sick)(me!)
> 
> Anyways! Please leave a comment, I love reading them! ^-^


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